• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Alberta government appealing $2.1M restitution lawsuit to Steam Whistle and Great Western Brewing

July 10, 2018Keith Gribbins

Canada money Canadian map

The Alberta Small Brewers Development Program has been a highlight case for Canada’s bad tax laws and interprovincial protectionist policies. We did a big feature on it a few weeks ago. Here are the basics: Enacted in 2016, the program has been providing a monthly grant to Alberta breweries that produce and sell up to 300,000 hectoliters of product each year — that’s under 250,000 barrels. But the program has been accused of being a shell game that paid Alberta brewers back for the $1.25 per litre beer tax the province enacted a couple of years ago around the same time, and a very big lawsuit might force the Alberta government to payout $2.1 million in restitution because of it.

Toronto, Ontario-based Steam Whistle Brewing and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Great Western Brewing Co. are nearing the end of lawsuit over the Alberta government’s beer markup policy. The court filing specifically contends that much of that $1.25 per litre tax that the Alberta government penalizes all breweries for is returned to Alberta beer producers in the form of grants from the Alberta Small Brewers Development Program. These breweries say that the grants are an unconstitutional trade barrier violating Canada’s Agreement on Internal Trade (a partnership to reduce and eliminate barriers between the provinces), and they’ve won for now.

Apparently, the Alberta government is appealing the decision of Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Gillian Marriott, who ordered the Alberta government to pay $2.1 million in restitution to Steam Whistle and Great Western after finding that the grant program policies implemented by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission were unconstitutional. According to CBC/Radio Canada:

Speaking to reporters Monday after flipping flapjacks on the grounds of the McDougall Centre, the government’s downtown Calgary offices, [Premier Rachel] Notley confirmed Alberta will appeal the ruling and seek a stay of it coming into effect as the court battle continues.

“But even as that is going on, we’ll be looking at other ways to address the issue,” Notley said, without specifying what measures her government is considering.

The Alberta government has continually noted it would reinvent the Alberta Small Brewers Development Program — though no one is quite sure how.

Asked why the province is appealing, the premier said, “So, when you lose, you appeal.”

Makes total sense.

Alberta Canada map cbb crop
A tale of Canadian taxes and protectionist policies: Alberta’s craft beer grant program deemed unconstitutional
Trade challenge! Alberta government dumps craft brewer grant program, focuses on Canadian provincial protectionism instead
Alberta Canada map cbb crop
The Alberta government faces class action lawsuit over Alberta Small Brewers Development Program
Canada Select craft beer imports
Um, Alberta’s craft brewers can get up to $12 million a year in grants now

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Toronto transaction: Junction Craft Brewery acquires Woodhouse Brewing Co.
  • 3 Daughters Brewing opening a spot in St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport
  • New podcast: Answering your 2022 beer branding trends questions
  • Watch: Bear Republic explains how its solar system works

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Distribution update: Athletic Brewing and Buffalo Wild Wings team up + news from Evil Genius, Trap Door, Living The Dream and more
    May 25, 2022
  • urban-artifactUrban Artifact crafts the world’s most expensive fermented beverage and more beers to know this week
    May 24, 2022
  • 2022 Beer Branding Trends Part 2: Beyond Beer
    May 23, 2022
  • The-IBA-TeamIBA hits milestone – 1 million bbls of buying power – what’s next for the co-op?
    May 19, 2022
  • 2022 Beer Branding Trends Part 1: Reinvention
    May 17, 2022
  • satisfaction surveysAre brewery employees happy? Depends on the department
    May 16, 2022

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2022 · CBB Media LLC

Posting....